How to Tune a Guitar

Knowing how to tune a guitar is one of the most important parts of learning how to play. Here's how to make sure your guitar always sounds good.

Introduction
- One of the most important things you will need to do in order to keep your guitar sounding good (and make practicing worthwhile) is to tune it on a regular basis. The process of tuning your guitar involves adjusting the pitch of each of your strings so that they play the correct note. This is done by tightening or loosening each of the tuning pegs (on the headstock). In general, tightening the tuning peg raises the pitch of a string, while loosening the peg lowers the pitch. There are a few different methods that guitar players can use in order to tune their guitars.
Guitar Basics
- Before we start playing, let's first go over a few of the basic terms and parts of the guitar that you will need to know in order to tune your guitar:
Strings
- A normal guitar has six strings, each of which has a different size and note value. In standard tuning, the bottom string (also the skinniest and highest sounding) is an E note. This is also known as the 1st string. The 2nd string up (a little bit thicker and lower sounding) is a B note. The 3rd string up is a G note, 4th is a D, 5th is an A, and the 6th string (thickest, lowest sounding, and closest to your body) is also an E note. When in tune, playing the 1st and the 6th strings open should produce the same note, albeit at different pitches. Mnemonic devices can help you remember the order of the strings: For example, from top to bottom: Eat All Day Get Big Easy. Or come up with your own.
Frets
- While the strings divide the guitar vertically (as in the diagram), frets are small metal strips that divide the guitar into sections from top to bottom. If you look at your guitar from above, you can begin to see that the strings and frets together form a kind of grid that covers the entire neck of the guitar. Placing your finger on a string in between two of the frets is what enables you to play a note. The higher up you get on the frets, the higher the notes sound. In general, each fret is a half-step higher than the previous fret.
Online Guitar Tuners
- These days, tuning your guitar can be as easy as flipping on your computer and finding the right site. There are a number of online resources that offer Virtual guitar tuners for people who want a quick and easy way to tune their guitars. These sites (usually Flash based) work by allowing players to trigger each note and then tune each string to match that note. We've embedded an online guitar tuner below. Simply click on the switch beneath each of the letters to hear the tone for that note. Match each of your strings to the corresponding tone.
Gieson Interactive Guitar Tuner</br>
Relative Tuning
- For those that don't want to purchase an electronic tuner (or don't have a computer handy), there are other ways to tune your guitar manually and without the aid of an electronic device. The simplest way is to use a method called Relative Tuning:
1. Place a finger on the 5th fret of the 6th string and play the note.
2. Play the 5th string Open (without holding down any frets). When in tune, these two notes should sound exactly the same.
3. Adjust the tuning peg for the 5th string so that, when played open, it makes the same sound as the 5th fretted 6th string.
4. Place your finger on the 5th fret of the 5th string and repeat this process with the 4th string "Open".
5. Repeat this process for the 4th and 3rd strings.
6. When you reach the 2nd string, things change slightly. Instead of placing your finger on the 5th fret of the 3rd string when adjusting the 2nd string, place it on the 4th fret.
7. To tune the 1st and final string, go back to previous method of playing the 5th fret of the 2nd string.
- Check out this video from iPlayMusic on how to tune your guitar with relative tuning:
Tuning Your Guitar
Tuning with a Piano
- If you happen to have a Piano handy, and know which notes are which, you can also tune your guitar by matching each of the strings to the corresponding note on the piano. If you don't already know the notes on the piano, see Mahalo's guide to [[How To Play Piano For Beginners (And Save $500 In Lessons)|playing piano]].
1. Start by finding and playing an E note on the piano.
2. Play the 6th string (also an E) on your guitar and adjust the tuning peg so that the E on your guitar sounds like the E on the piano.
3. Repeat this process for each of the following strings: A (5), D (4), G (3), B (2) and the low E (1).
Electronic Tuning
- For beginning guitar players, it is often a good idea to purchase an electronic tuner. Electronic tuners are small devices that are able to pick up the sound of a string and let you know (usually through some sort of L.E.D. display) whether the note you are playing is sharp (too high) or flat (too low). Since beginners usually have a hard time telling whether or not a string is in tune just by ear, having an electronic tuner can help make tuning much quicker and more accurate. For more information, see Mahalo's guide to Guitar Tuners.
Keeping Your Guitar In Tune
- Apart from actually tuning your guitar, there are a number of things that you can do in order to help your guitar stay in tune. These tips will make it so that you can spend less time tuning your guitar, and more time playing it:
1. Every time you finish playing your guitar, clean your strings by wiping them down with a lint free cloth. This will help remove the chemicals and sweat that can build up on your strings and make it hard to tune.
2. Change your strings frequently. Strings that have been on your guitar for a long time tend to go out of tune easier. You should usually change your strings every 2-3 months.
3. After putting new strings on your guitar, make sure to stretch them out thoroughly by pulling the strings upwards until all of the tension has been released. You may need to do this a few times before they settle down and stay in tune.
Conclusion
- Whichever way you decide, make sure that you tune your guitar regularly and frequently. Since strings can go out of tune at any time (often more so when playing a lot) you may even need to re-tune your guitar in the middle of practicing. But don't worry. The more practice you have tuning your guitar, the easier it will be and the better your ears will become at recognizing how each of the notes should sound. And of course, the more in-tune your guitar is, the better it will sound and the more fun you will have when playing. That is the goal: Sound good and have fun!
Guitar Tuning Resources
- WikiHow: How to Tune a Guitar
- Guitar Alliance: How to Tune a Guitar
- About.com: How to Tune a Guitar
- HowToTuneAGuitar: Interactive Guitar Tuner
- Ezine: 5 Tips To Help Keep Your Guitar In Tune
- Dean Markley: How To Keep Your Guitar In Tune
- FretMeUp: Tuning a Guitar Using Harmonics